Call to Action for Filmmakers to “Battle Sleepwalking of Our Culture”
Trailblazer honoree James Mangold says now is the time for storytellers to lean into “sincerity and earnestness” more than ever: “We shouldn’t be embarrassed to feel shit and show it.”
Oscar nominee James Mangold, fresh from seeing his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown earn 8 Oscar nominations, received hero’s welcome upon returning to Sundance, where he got his start almost three decades ago.
Following in the footsteps of inaugural honoree Christopher Nolan, Mangold received a Trailblazer Award during the Celebrating Sundance Institute gala fundraiser presented by Google TV and held at Park City’s Grand Hyatt Deer Valley.
The filmmaker, who has amassed a diverse resume that spans genres, budgets and blockbusters, retracted his festival roots and delivered a call to action to all storytellers.
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Though his award had trailblazer in its title, Mangold knows that some think of him as a “strange trailblazer.” In fact, “me too,” he said.
“Maybe none of us should ever think of ourselves that way. But I’ve always been fascinated by the filmmakers of the past, and so I kind of never felt like ‘blazer’ as much as a follower of great masters. Some of whose trails may have been overgrown with brushes over time.”
As Mangold’s career skyrocketed, he hasn’t forgotten his roots by staying close to Sundance while serving as an advisor and mentor to other filmmakers through the years. “It really is a two-way street for us anyway, through all these years. It’s been a place where I made lifelong friends, and among them Robert Redford and Michelle Satter,” he noted. “It’s immeasurable how deeply these two people have shaped the course of filmmaking, not just Sundance, but filmmaking worldwide from the late 20th century until now with kind and gentle and firm and loving support of new voices.”
Mangold, feted by Joel Edgerton in person and Edward Norton on video, closed his speech with a call to action for filmmakers. “We don’t make anesthesia. We don’t need to make things that help people pass idle time,” he said near the end of his speech which was interrupted by a female heckler in the back of the ballroom who said something about “that’s what TikTok is for” in reference to passing idle time.
